SpaceX’s Starship launches from Boca Chica, Texas. Image courtesy of SpaceX via Twitter.
After a failed first attempt, SpaceX‘s massive Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket lifted off from the company’s flight test facility in Boca Chica, Texas at 8:37 am CDT on April 20, 2023. With a smooth launch powered by 33 raptor engines burning their way into orbit, it seemed the rocket was successfully proceeding on its first test flight until five engines failed seconds after liftoff. Then, before the ship and booster separated, the vehicle began to spin fast before SpaceX destroyed the ship mid-flight via the flight termination system.
Lessons from Failure
Although the unscheduled disassembly was a bit disappointing, SpaceX says Starship reached significant milestones during this first test flight, pointing out that “with a test like this, success comes from what…
